2012 First day in Ho Chi Minh

Day one of our adventures in Vietnam looking at and for new dishes / flavours for our restaurant. We start in Ho Chi Minh to see family and go to a wedding; of course this never stops our quest for food. 

The day was a bit of a hazy one as we had just landed from a long and mostly sleepless flight. Of course this does not stop us from diving right away into some local food; no wimpy transition this time, straight to a small local restaurant that has Hue style food, "O Xuân"

We started with Banh Nam - Rice flour with pork and spices cooked in a Banana leaf. 

Could have used a bit more spicy but as a starter on our first day it tasted ok.









Then we had some Bue Bo Hue

 The broth was beefy but was not very strong, it was more like a beef soup than Bun Bo Hue. It was missing the strong taste of the fermented shrimp paste and any spiciness. I guess it was adjusted to the local taste of the area we are staying. The highlights of the dish are the added meats and blood. The blood was perfectly spiced and other meats tasty.

My wife had a noodle dish that had small clams called Com Hen, very good spicy and tasty with great texture.The crunch was supplied in three ways, deep fried pork rinds (a favorite) peanuts and sesame seeds. This was a very good dish and when you add the fresh herbs and vegetables, it was great.

The restaurant also sold a few other items fresh at the front but we did not try them.











Later that night we took a further plunge into the street food by having a Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich) 

 It is a big gamble as we could be headed for the nearest toilet within a short period but I am always ready for the consequences of my foody follies. 

The cart is right on the corner of the street near our relatives home (everything is close here), the ultimate fast food location. The food is kept at a nice 30 + Celsius most of the day, just waiting for the customer to order it fresh.

 We ordered a meatball and a special with hot peppers. I mention the hot peppers as they were actually too hot (even for me) as they over powered the taste of the rest of the ingredients. The meat ball was soft and mushy but actually better than any I have had in Canada, great potential for having another one during our time here.

The special was an assortment of meat but the meat was quite fatty, it was properly fatty as most actually prefer it that way but I am not use to it.

The funny thing that happened at the Hotel we are staying at, I became a very minor star for their advertising campaign. They needed a big white guy in their photos to attract international hotel guests, can we say desperate :). I take no responsibility for a drop in business when they post my photos. For a picture of the shoot and the Hotel go to our Facebook page

All in all a good first day.

 

Dinner with the relatives

During our trip to Vietnam in 2010 we stayed with relatives in Ho Chi Minh, they showed us a lot of the new places to eat and they also showed us some of their cooking talents.

 Starting with a pork and egg dish 

Then a squash and pork soup

The the amazing new taste for me was non-bitter bitter melon, let me explain; the bitter melon was chilled with ice which reduced the bitterness and made the melon very crunchy. Then combined with the slightly salty pork fluff, the taste was a complete transformation from the normal bitter flavour.

 Pork fluff

 Combined and eaten with rice, its a great taste and texture. 

Sauteed greens with lots of yummy garlic 

Lastly a fine selection of desserts that were bought locally 

 Loved this fresh coconut dessert, smooth, creamy and refreshing. The perfect end to our meal. 

My Wife unexpected Vietnam trip

My wife unexpectedly had to travel to Vietnam for a family emergency as such she had some time after everything was finished to take a few photos to add to our travel / food blog

A rural brick factory, making bricks out of the red river mud

Fancy roadside restaurant :) I think a four star one

Fishing on the river

Small man made pond

Brick delivery 

Traditional field irrigation

Market in the North

Red river muscles

Working the rice patty at 38 C 

Ice cream treat

Finally a restaurant
The link to the area that this restaurant is located

Vinegared beef hot pot in Hanoi

Beef, noodle, cucumber and greens

Dipping sauce

A family kitchen

Binh Quoi Tourist Village buffet 2010 trip

This was a special treat, a weekend outdoor; restaurant, Binh Quoi Tourist Village It is out in the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh on a beautiful groomed piece of land that looks like an idealized version of Vietnam. There are ponds and fake structures that are beautifully constructed to give the illusion that you are in a small village. 

As you exit the car park you travel down a path to a booth where you pay for the buffet to come. The restaurant is a little walk down from the payment booth; as you get to enjoy the gardens and ponds. If only all of Vietnam was so clean and unspoiled by real life. I felt like it was a Disney version of Vietnam.
 The restaurant is series of open huts where the food is cooked and most of the tables for the customers are out in the open. It was not a rainy day set up. To the left is the barbecue hut where there was numerous regional styles of barbecue and types of meat
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A plate barbecue goodness, we piled the plates high and dug in.

Some of the covered eating area

Another of the cooking stations

 A really interesting cooking station where the cook was making a rice puff. I did not taste one but should have tried it.

A cook making a Vietnamese rice roll

This food station was on a raft on a pond. In the back ground you can see the floating lights they placed in the pond.

 A water wheel display setup one of the ponds in the gardens, After eating we walked around the gardens and enjoyed lighted displays.

 This was the sink for the bathrooms; great looking presentation. No the toilets were indoors and western style. It took me a few minutes to figure out the set up for cleaning my hands but after seeing someone else use it, I understood.

Lastly a view of some of the night time flora that they had lit up for us to enjoy. Overall this was a great experience along with good food that had the three regions of Vietnam well represented. Would love to have a place like this here but we do not have the weather for it in Vancouver.

Restaurant in Siagon 2010 trip

Great variation on a salad roll

We took family out to one of the many restaurants that dot the city of Ho Chi Minh. It was nice but it did not impress me in any special way. Good food that was done right but nothing beyond the ordinary.

I would say I like the use of the lacy rice wrap on the dish at the right as it adds a nice texture to the dish and makes dipping much easier. 

I have had this type of wrap used on spring rolls too and I have to say that it does impress me as it becomes very crunchy. I have yet to find a maker of this type of wrap in Canada that provides it fresh.

I love how the individual strands stick together and remain a sheet as you dip the roll.

Interesting dish noodles with pork and a dumpling; covered with roasted peanuts and fresh rich cracker.

I remember this large pork meatball well as I did not really like it. Large, porky, and lumpy; enough said.

To finish the meal I had a pork and prawn soup; tasty and satisfing as you expect from most Vietnamese soups.